


the jackpot question in advance

by helsinkibaby



Category: FBI (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Het, New Years Eve, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21587281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: There are many things Jubal would rather be doing on New Year’s Eve.
Relationships: Kristen Chazal/Jubal Valentine
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	the jackpot question in advance

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fictober prompt that never got finished on time. 
> 
> Title from the song “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” by Ella Fitzgerald

There were , Jubal thought, so many things that he could be doing on New Year’s Eve. 

He could be planning a pizza and board games night with Tyler and Abigail, knowing full well they’d both be asleep by the time the ball dropped and he’d wreck his back carrying them up to bed. 

He could be at work, lighting up the JOC, sending his agents out to catch the bad guys. 

Hell, even memories of some of the worst New Year’s Eves he’s ever had - undercover in a drug dealer’s den, or walking the floor with a screaming, colicky Abigail as Samantha tried to soothe Tyler back to sleep through her own tears - make what he’s facing today look like a cakewalk. 

“Kris?” He makes his way towards the bathroom, his damned bow tie dangling from between his fingers. “How are you at tying bow ties?” 

From behind the closed bathroom door, he hears her chuckle. “I’ll be out in a minute.” 

“I heard that chuckle, Miss Chazal, and I’ll have you know, I do not appreciate it... after all, I’m doing this for you.” Because it was her best friend’s black tie wedding that they were dressing for; Jubal hadn’t even worn a tuxedo to his own wedding. 

“But you’re so cute when you’re flustered.” 

Her voice got louder as she went on so he was able to work out that the door was about to be opened. What he wasn’t prepared for was the sight that greeted him when it did. 

Flustered was suddenly a very mild word to describe the way that he was feeling. 

But, he thought, what other way could he be when she looked like that? Her hair was loose and curled into soft ringlets that cascaded down her back, making his fingers itch to tangle in it. (He wouldn’t though. He knew better.) Her eyes were huge and dark, the lashes easily twice as long as they usually were. And the dress... thin straps, thin waist, long skirt swishing around her ankles and hugging every curve...

She did not usually look like this in the office. 

And thank God, because if she did he’d never get any work done. 

As if she knew the effect she was having on him, she gave a little twirl, pausing slightly when her back was to him, and he knew that was deliberate. 

“Wow,” was all he could say when she was facing him again. “You look great.” 

It was a understatement but from the pleased smile on her face, she didn’t mind too much. “You don’t look too bad yourself,” she said, eyes trailing slowly down his white shirt and black pants with no small amount of appreciation. “Now, let’s see what we can do about this bow tie...”

Looping it around his neck, she had to step close to him to tie it and his hands somehow found their way to her hips where he found the material of the dress to be softer and slippier than he’d anticipated. “This is some dress.” 

The tip of her tongue touched her upper lip as she concentrated and he slightly lost the ability to breathe. “Is it too much?” 

It took a second for him to process the words. “Not at all... though if you want to take it off...you know, just to be sure...”

Her head moved slightly from side to side as she snickered under her breath. “Nice try.” 

“I thought so.” One hand moved up her back and this time it was her whose breath caught as his hand moved from the soft material of the dress to her even softer skin. “But it’s nice to have something to look forward to.”

She didn’t reply to that, though her smile as she pulled his tie closed was reply enough. It was the same smile that was on her face when he put on his tuxedo jacket as she was slipping into her shoes, the one that made him ask her, “Well, do I pass muster?” even as he already knew her answer. 

“You’ll do,” she said as she came around behind him, straightening the shoulders of the jacket, smoothing it down and then standing in front of him to smooth down the lapels. “I’ll say this, you can wear a tux.” 

“Don’t get any ideas about me wearing this all the time,” he said quickly, only half teasing. 

Her hands flattened on his chest, his looped around her waist, fingers laced together. “I know this isn’t your first choice of how to spend New Year’s...” she began and he felt no guilt in cutting her off. 

“Hey.” It might have been true but he wasn’t going to be the asshole who ruined her day. “Maybe it’s not. But I get to spend the day with you, looking like that. And that’s one of the best ways of spending my days.” He heard the words, realised how they sounded. “Spending the day alone with you, I mean. Not because of what you look like. You look great in a messy bun and sweats.” He stopped talking when she burst into peals of giggles. “I should not be allowed to speak.” 

“I disagree.” She stood on tiptoes, brushed her lips across his. “Now, let’s go.... we don’t want to be late.” 

Jubal might have had ulterior motives for letting her walk ahead of him but from the extra sway in her hips, she knew and she understood. 

Even to his possibly jaded and less than romantic eyes and ears, the wedding was beautiful and Jubal had to admit that he actually ended up enjoying himself. It was the first time that he’d met most of Kristen’s friends and even though he would have said he knew her well from years of working together, this was a whole new side to her that he’d never seen. And that was before they were seated around the dinner table and he got to hear stories about her that had her laughing and blushing in equal measure. 

When the meal and speeches ended - and he’d made Kristen’s friends grin knowingly when he’d produced tissues just as she was tearing up at the first speech - and the music began to play, he surprised himself by willingly joining Kristen on the dance floor. Near disaster on the Electric Slide notwithstanding, he didn’t think his “dad dancing” was too embarrassing but it got easier after the ball dropped and the New Year was well and truly welcomed, when the music slowed down and he was able to pull Kristen into his arms and sway with her. One of his hands was wrapped around her waist, the other holding hers, pressing it against his chest, right over his heart as she smiled up at him. “If I didn’t know better,” she said, “I’d actually think you were enjoying yourself.” 

He laughed at the gentle teasing. “It’s a possbility,” was all he would allow. At least until she laughed, because to hear that noise again, he would admit to anything. “And yes... you told me so.” 

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything...”

“Just never let me forget it.” She didn’t deny it and he leaned in, kissed her softly, quickly. Her smile felt as good as it looked, maybe even better. Still, there was something he needed to do. “Look...”

Her smile softened. “Go call your kids. I’ll be here when you get back.” 

His jaw dropped. “How... no, you know what, I’m not even going to ask how you did that.” He kissed her again, twice this time before heading out to a quiet spot to dial Samantha’s number. It didn’t take long to ascertain that his initial impression had been right - neither kid had lasted much past eleven and Allan’s back was currently feeling the impact. “I’m sorry, Jubal,” Samantha said. “I’ll make sure they call you first thing in the morning.” 

“It’s okay, I had a feeling they’d have crashed by now... just wanted to check.” From where he was standing, Jubal could see through the windows into the room, could see Kristen talking to the bride, their heads close together as they looked at something on Kristen’s cell phone. “Happy new year, Sam.” 

“Happy new year,” his ex-wife told him and, as Jubal caught Kristen’s eye through the glass, he found himself thinking that it just might be.


End file.
